Lightweight rocket launcher



July 30, 1957 J. w. MAYER 2,800,835

LIGHTWEIGHT ROCKET LAUNCHER Filed Oct. 29, 1952 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 tlames W. May E1" J. W. MAY ER LIGHTWEIGHT ROCKET LAUNCHER July 30, 1957 a Sheet s-Sheet 2 gwuflm io'v James Mayer Filed Oct. 29, 1952.

July 30, 1957 J. w. MAYER LIGHTWEIGHT ROCKET LAUNCHER Filed Oct. 29, 1952 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 dar'nEsWMayer- United States Patent ice example. Mechanism 5 of Well-known construction provides for fine adjustment of the tube in elevation.

'Tube 6 has a pair of standards 7 and 8 secured to its LIGHTWEIGHT ROCKET LAUNCHER breech end and axially spaced by a distance sufficient to accommodate the downward passage of a rocket there- James W. Mayer, Evanston, IlL, ass gnor to the United between from magazine to tube A magazine 9 States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Amy erally trapezoidal in vertical transverse section is supported by the upper ends of these standards. While Application October 29, 1952, Serial No. 317,610 shown as open at its top to facilitate the easy and rapid v. I loading of rockets thereinto, it will be understood that (CL 89-45) a hinged or removable cover therefor may be provided (Granted under Title 35, U. S. Code (1952), sec. 266) if desired, to prevent the ingress of rain, dust, etc. It is also contemplated that this magazine may be detachably secured in position upon the standards so that complete The invention described herein may be manufactured magazines each loaded with a predetermined number of and d or fa the Goxerhmehtf for govelrmnghtal rockets, may be rapidly positioned upon the standards gg W1 out e P l to me 0 any Teya Y :in substitution for a preceding magazine whose rockets have been fired.

'This invention relates to repeating rocket launchers, A pail. of gates ,doors 10 and 11 shaped as clearly arena retransmi 1 .2232 2232011 21 {:e to I t e axia spacing o stan ar s an e oors are fiefig gz zi g z g gh g ffieet loadlhg from shown as of equal size and so shaped, when in closed 0 e eeee lhg roe or fi-ri-n osition as to com letel close and seal the vIt is the principal object of the invention to provide a upwardigycing loading 'fi Fig 2, in tubs 6 launcher of the aforesaid type which is light in weight 25 f d between Standards 7 and AS Shown upon for h caliber of locket to be launched Simple in Fig. 2, door 10 has aligned lugs 10a and 101) each bored struction, and reliable in operation. 13y reason of these to receive a pivot pin Such as 13 with a press fit Each features and advantages, the launcher 18 particularly well pin is journaled in a base in an adjacent lug thickened adapted P use f reconnoiterine, aqvanping portion of tube 6, whereby the door may be swung from fse 'i git 3251 32 1213 2? 2 1 12; g versahle hght a loading position, shown in dotted lines upon Fig. 5, to

' e h er s e e a closed or firin osition shown in solid lines. The

Ai le is the pljovieioh of a side'loedihg other door 11 is iirr i ilarly pivoted to tube 6 so that it is pe litinghrocket lainchher vsghich 1car i be fired rapidly, bu sn-fiicient to identify its rearward lug 11b and pivot pin on 2 9 ed Proper finhg 14, Fig. 3. See also Fig. 5. From the latter figure it is .p i hu L b doors ez 1 p 35 noted that the pivot axes of the doors are positioned in Sh h er e 13 9 P ef" e a auhchery of the thed1ametralhorizontal plane of the tube and that each g z g s s gi gg z z door has ahtotal atriiglulafi extentdgreater than 90 about v 120 in e mo e iustrate By this construction, pf peg f Charged f fi f gi lauhehed Whleh blast when the doors are simultaneously pivoted to the open 51 il l 1 138 0 n b b doors Nhmehms 40 or loading position, the lower portions thereof swing upo to; anci afry o pct:1 wi e o vious to those skilled wardly and jointly form a shelf or cradle for receiving a e e a e a Y 9 the followlhg desenphoh rocket indexed from the magazine, while, when in closed l g fi h drawlhg- 'or firing position, the doors completely close the loade Tawlhg: in .o enin From Fi 5 it is noted that the lower h f e elevation of the launcher forming .loigitfidina? edges of tie doors are thinned, as at 10c thigllbjgct of th sdinvtintion, mounted upon alight T P to form when the doors are closed, a lap joint with a 1% 1S 51 e eevahoh to ah enlarged scale h correspondingly and complementarily thinned portion of Pigg l j t at g limhcherdshowmg more P the tube. This construction provides a more effective gas u ry e as-oper e reeasero Fig. 3 is a detail view showing in perspective the blast :figigffigfiegigiigigcl ai zgfi ai t ii e 2 1i E322; fl pe i q factllated fhe'rebyof the doors. Also, it is contemplated that the meeting F 1g. 4 as ah section 1inn 211 plane identified by lme 0f ledges of the doors may be shaped to form an overlapped s is a s zz zlil l iak e il ig i ggie ggjtfgg i-y line or 1irlijterfittingth oint to provide a more nearly gas-tight sea etween em. 0f 2 and Showing ahenlarged e the 55 Referring to Figs. 2, 3, 7 and 8, in particular, it will l e Plf h P hf 3 5 d f 4 and P e be noted that door 10 has an operating and locking lug s; e rqi 0 t e oors an 'lhdex meehahlsm '15. This lug is positioned well below the axis of pivoted oa ng posron movement of the door, and has a cam surface 15a and b i g- 6 33 g h 1h i si Pl ldehh'fied an undercut portion 15b fori'ning a locking projection.

Y n t -d S ifi 2 ast Vane mouhhhg ahd A lug, not shown, identical in construction, operation manna Y Opera 6 means ere and location, is rovided u on door 11.

Fig. 7 is a detail view showing the positions of the AS best shownpon Figs, g 3 l ft and right Operaslide and lower gate when the latter is in loading position, ing rods 16 and 17 are mounted f i i l anclisig 8 is aview corresponding to Fig 7 but 11 i th cli'lprocition on and along tube 6 at the respective sides Parts locked firing Position For example, rod 16 has a sliding fit in aligned holes Referring in detail to the drawing, and particularly to in lugs 19 and 20 secured to or formed integrally with Fig. 1,the numerallidentifies generally a standard tripod, tube 6. If desired, the rods may be non-circular, or such as the .30 caliber machine gun mount having deany other means provided to prevent rotation and confine tachable legs 2, traversing head 3 earring elevation them to axial translation only. A spring 21 surrounds sector '4 mounting launcher tube 6 for 3.5" rockets, for rod 16 and abuts lug 19 at its rearward end and a tab 22, fixed to rod 16, at its forward end. The rod is relation with doors 10 and 11, the forward pivot pin of thereby constantly urged into forward motion. door 10 projects forwardly through standard 7 and has Rod 16 has a forward camming projection 23 and a an arm 47 secured thereto. A link 48 connects arm rearward locking projection both of which are in the 47 and the third arm of lever 42 and from inspection same radial plane with lug 15; and it will be obvious of Figs. 4 and 5, it will be clear that the doors are synfrom inspection of Figs. 7 and 8 that rearward motion chronously pivoted between open and closed positions of the rod from its forward or door-locking position whereby a rocket supported by and between doors 35 shown upon Fig. 8 effects engagement of thecam surand 36 in closed position, is released to fall between the face 23 with that of lug 15 and causes a pivotal movenow-open doors 10 and 11 and rest upon the cradle porment of door 10 from closed to open positions. Like- 10 tions thereof below pivot axes defined by pins 13 and wise, when the rod is in its most forward position the 14, respectively. The weight of a rocket on the aforelocking surfaces of parts 15b and 24 are in engagement said cradle portions is suflicient to pivot them downto hold door 10 firmly closed. These surfaces are slightwardly to closed position.

ly inclined to the longitudinal axis of the rod, to there- From Fig. 5 it is noted that index doors 35 and 36 by effect a firm camming of the door into closed position 15 each have a ridge 35a and 36a extending inwardly and when the rod is in forwardmost position. upwardly from their pivot axes. These ridges or lugs Rod 17 is mounted on tube 6 and spring-urged in a are so positioned and dimensioned that they pivot inmanner identical with that described for rod 16, and wardly to the dotted line positions shown to engage and has like projections, only one of which, 25 appears upon hold the second rocket in the magazine from following Fig. 3. Also, door 11 has a lug identical with 15 so that 20 the first rocket downwardly. The second rocket is thus the door is operated in an identical manner described prevented from moving downwardly onto the indexing for door 10.

doors until the latter have been pivoted to the full line Rods 16 and 17 are interconnected for simultaneous position of Fig. 5 and is likewise prevented from intermovement to thereby simultaneously operate the doors fering with closure of doors 10 and 11.

between loading and firing positions. For this purpose As is well known, an electrically fired rocket is pro- I have shown a shaft 26 journaled in the walls of tube vided with a metallic band about its tail assembly and 6 at the breech end thereof and extending substantially which is insulated from the rocket casing. A lead exdiametrically thereacross. A blast vane 27 is fixed to tends from this band to the squib of the rocket and a the shaft. The ends of shaft 26 project a short distance second lead extends from the squib to the rocket casexternally of the tube and each has a hub 28 and 29 30 ing which is grounded through the launcher when the secured thereto. Hub 28, for example carries an oprocket is in loaded position. erating handle 30 and a short arm 31 whose end is con- For the purpose of completing the firing circuit through nected with the adjacent end of rod 16 by a link 32. the rocket to launch the same as well as to provide ade- The other hub 29 has a handle 33, arm 34, and link, 35 quate safety, I have shown a contact button 49', Fig. 2 not shown, for connection with rod 17. By this conwhich is mounted for sliding radially of the launcher struction, as shaft 26 is rotated counterclockwise as seen tube in a dielectric sleeve 50. As shown, the button is in Figs. 2 and 3, the doors 10 and 11 are first unlocked mounted in the lower portion of the tube and is urged by rearward withdrawal of projections 24 and 25 and upwardly by a coil spring 51 acting between the head then pivoted to loading position by the operation of the of the button and the base of its mounting sleeve, fixed camming projections. This rotation may be effected in bracket 52. A lead 53 extends from the button 49 either manually by operation of handles 30 or 33, or to a micro-switch 54 which is of standard construction automatically by blast vane 27 in response to the blast and has an operating plunger 55 in alignment with one from the propelling charge of a rocket in the tube. of the operating rods, such as 16 for actuation thereby. A second pair of doors or rocket support shelves 35 Thus the switch is closed only when the rod is in the and 36 are used to index rockets from the magazine forwardmost position, shown upon Fig. 3, the vane 27 into the launcher tube 6. See Fig. 5. As shown, door in operative position, and the doors locked. At all other 35 has a pair of aligned hinge pins 37 and 38 at its end times, namely when the rods have been partially or wholly edges, each of which is journaled in a corresponding retracted, the switch and the firing circuit included therehole in uprights 7 and 8 whereby the door may be swung in, are open. from its position shown in solid lines, downwardly to A lead 56 extends from the other terminal of switch its dotted line position. Door 36 is pivoted in an identi- 54 to one terminal of a source of voltage 57. This source cal manner by trunnions, one of which is identified at may be a small generator of well-known construction 39, Fig. 5. These indexing doors, when in the soliddriven by a trigger 58 of the generator. The other terline position of Fig. 5, conjointly act to retain a rocket minal of the generator is grounded to the launcher through in position to be loaded into the launcher tube, and lead 59. Thus, the circuit through the firing squib of when simultaneously and oppositely pivoted to the dotted the rocket is closed and energizable only when (l) the line positions, permit the rocket to fall into the tube or, rocket is properly loaded into the tube with its contact more accurately, onto the cradle formed by the presentlyring in engagement with button 49 and (2) rods 16 and open doors 10 and 11. 60 17 are in the forward position locking the doors 10 and As one suitable mechanism for operating index doors 11 in which position vane 27 is vertical. Alternatively, 35 and 36 in timed relation with 10 and 11, I have shown it is contemplated that switch 54 may be so positioned that them as provided at their forward ends with short opits plunger is operated to closed position directly by moveerating arms 40 and 41 each fixed to the forwardlyment of one or both of the doors into fully closed, firing projecting end of a corresponding hinge pin 37 and 39. position. A triple-arm lever 42, is pivoted to the front side of The operation will be clear from the foregoing descripstandard 7, as at 43 and its two oppositely-disposed arms tion and may be briefly summarized as follows. With are pivotally connected to the contiguous ends of links one or more rockets positioned in magazine 9 depend- 44 and 45, respectively. The other end of link 44 is ing upon its capacity, one of the two handles 30 or 33 pivoted at 46 to the free end of index arm 40. Simiis grasped and forced forwardly. This movement unlarly, the other end of link 45 is pivoted to the free end locks and opens the doors 10 and 11 from the full to of index arm 41. Thus, as lever 42 is pivoted, the doors dotted line positions shown upon Fig. 5. Simultaneously 35 and 36 are correspondingly moved between open link 48 is operated by door 10, to move index doors 35 and closed positions. and 36 from the solid to dotted line positions. This For the purpose of pivoting doors 35 and 36 in timed movement of indexing doors 35 and 36 releases the lowermost rocket in the magazine and permits it to descend by gravity onto the cradle formed by the inwardly-extending portions of doors and 11. As handle 30 or 33 is pivoted forwardly, the weight of the rocket upon doors 10 and 11 causes them to pivot to closed position wherein final movement of the lugs 24 and '25 earns the doors firmly shut to firing position. The :final movement of rod 16 closes switch 54. The rocket may now be fired by a pull upon trigger 58, thus initiating the squib in the conventional manner. As the rocket is fired the blast from the propel-ling charge thereof impinges upon vane 27 and opens the doors to index the next rocket to firing position.

:I have thereby provided .a :rocket launcher which is relatively simple to operate, of light weight, yet reliable in operation. The speed of firing is limited only by the rate at which rockets can be fed into the magazine. This feeding may be by hand in field installations, or automatically by means not shown. The doors must be fully closed and locked before a loaded rocket can be launched, while the firing of a rocket automatically indexes a succeeding rocket into the launcher tube.

As numerous changes will occur to those skilled in the art after a study of the foregoing disclosure, I desire that the same be taken in an illustrative rather than a limiting sense; and it is my desire and intention to reserve all modifications, alterations and substitutions within the scope of the subjoined claims.

Having now fully disclosed the invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a rocket launcher, a launcher tube having a cylindrical bore surface and an upwardly-facing loading opening in its breech end, a pair of standards fixed to said tube at the respective ends of said opening, a rocket magazine secured to said standards in superposed position over said opening, a pair of doors pivotable on said tube from a first position closing said opening to a second open position, a pair of rocket support shelves pivotable on said magazine from a first position supporting a rocket therein to a second position releasing the same for movement through the opening into said tube, first means releasably locking said pair of doors in closed firing position, second means operable to release said locking means and pivot said doors to open position, and means responsive to movement of said pair of doors between open and closed position to correspondingly operate said rocket support shelves to index a rocket from said magazine into said tube.

2. A repeating rocket launcher comprising a launcher tube having an upwardly-facing opening to permit a rocket to be loaded transversely downwardly thereinto, a magazine having an open bottom supported in fixed superposed relation over said opening, a pair of doors having straight side edges, means pivoting said doors on diametrically opposite sides of said tube for movement from a first position conjointly closing said opening to a second open position, a pair of rocket support shelves pivoted in said magazine for movement from a first position supporting a rocket therein, to a second position releasing the same for movement by gravity into said tube, and blast-operated vane means for synchronously pivoting said doors and shelves from first to second positions.

3. A rocket launcher comprising a launcher tube having a longitudinal axis and an upwardly-facing loading opening into its breech wall, said opening having straight side edges parallel with said axis and an angular extent about said axis greater than 180", a pair of doors adapted conjointly to close said opening, means pivoting each door at a respective side of said opening on an axis parallel with said longitudinal axis, the axis of each door lying between its longitudinal edges, whereby the portions of said doors below their pivot axes move inwardly, to form a cradle above the bottom wall of the tube when the doors are pivoted from closed firing position to open loading posi- ,first and second rods mounted for axial translation on said tube adjacent each lug, respectively, each said rod having .a camming projection .and a locking projection fixed in longitudinally-spaced relation thereon, said locking surface and projection interengaging to lock said doors in .closed position ,in one limiting position of said rods, and means for simultaneously translating said rods to first separate said locking surfaces .and projections and subsequently :bring each said camming projection into engagement with its respective camming surface, to thereby pivot ,said doors to open loading position.

4. .A launcher as recited in claim 3, a shaft journaled in said tube .diametrally .across the .breech end thereof, .a vane fixed to said shaft, and a link connection between each end of said shaft and a respective one of said rods.

5. A rocket launcher comprising, a launcher tube having an upwardly-facing opening in its breech end, a pair of doors adapted to conjointly close said opening, means pivotally mounting said doors on respective sides of said tube on respective axes parallel with the longitudinal axis of the tube for movement between an open position enabling a rocket to be loaded transversely through said opening into the tube, to a closed position forming a complete closure for said opening, the pivot axis of each said door lying between the longitudinal edges thereof whereby the lower portion of each door rises when the door is moved to open position to form with the lower portion of the other door, a rocket-receiving cradle above the bottom portion of said tube, said doors to close auto matically by the weight of a rocket when in said cradle and a single manual means carried by said tube operable to simultaneously open and close said doors.

6. A rocket launcher comprising, a launcher tube having an upwardly-facing loading opening in its breech end of more than angular extent about the axis of the tube, a pair of doors adapted to conjointly close said opening, pivot means mounting each door for pivotal movement about respective diametrically opposed axes parallel with the axis of the tube, the axis of each door lying between the longitudinal edges thereof whereby the lower portions of the doors rise in response to opening movement of the doors to form a rocket-receiving cradle above the bottom of the tube, locking lugs carried externally by each door below the pivot axis thereof, and means cooperating with said locking lugs for operating said doors movable from a first position engaging said lugs to lock the doors in closed position, to a second position camming said lugs toward each other to thereby open said doors into loading position.

7. A launcher as recited in claim 6, actuating mechanism for said door operating means comprising a shaft journaled to extend in and across the breech end of said tube, a vane fixed on said shaft in position to be operated by the blast from a rocket launched from said tube, said shaft being connected with said door operating means to move the latter from said first to said second position in response to launching of a rocket from said tube.

8. In a rocket launcher, a launcher tube having an up wardly-facing loading opening in its breech end, a pair of doors pivotally mounted in said opening, said doors adapted to conjointly close said opening and form with said tube a continuous cylindrical bore surface, each said door having a lug on its exterior surface, each lug including a camming surface and an undercut locking surface, a slide rod mounted for axial translation longitudinally of and adjacent each respective door, a locking lug and a camming lug on each slide rod, and means operable to simultaneously translate said rods from a first position wherein said locking lugs engage said undercut locking surfaces to lock said doors in closed position to a second position wherein said camming lugs engage said camming surfaces to simultaneously pivot said doors to open loading position.

9. In a rocket launcher, a launcher tube having an upwardly-facing loading opening in its breech end, a pair of doors pivotally mounted in said opening, said doors adapted to conjointly close said opening and form with said tube a continuous cylindrical bore surface, operating means for simultaneously open and close said doors, said operating means including a pair of rods each mounted for axial sliding between first and second positions longitudinally of said tube and adjacent a respective door, first and second projections fixed in axially spaced relation on each rod, said first projection interengaging with a respective lug to lock the corresponding door in closed position when said rod is in said first position, movement of said rod to said second position releasing said door and engaging said projection and lug to cam the doors to loading position, and a single means operable to move both of said rods from said first to said second position.

' References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

